EJD1984 wrote:
Hopefully if the experiments do verify the theory, and NASA will fast-track this program for a small test vehicle/probe.
I can see the initial uses as local to the solar system. Earth to Mars in 20 minuets - at a substantially reduced speed.
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The article doesn't strongly indicate one way or the other, but I am fairly certain this type of drive would require constant acceleration to build up velocity. You can't simply turn it on and dial-a-speed; the drive causes forward motion through a mechanism not totally unlike gravity, which basically means you're constantly "falling" forward within the field.
The key advantage for this drive is that because it produces a noninertial reference frame, its acceleration and energy curve isn't subject to the usual limits of special relativity.